A flash of crimson light! Wang Lin’s right hand rose, and with it, the bloodied blade howled forth, embedding itself deep within the stone floor.

“This sword… it suffices!”

炎祟’s gaze swept over the gore-soaked steel. She knew this was a treasure of the Dao Ancient clan, an offering worthy to stand alongside her azure umbrella. A wager of equal weight, indeed.

“Very well! I accept your bet. I shall watch with interest as the Seventh Layer’s enchantments hurl you back from whence you came!” 炎祟’s eyes narrowed, a sliver of uncertainty creeping into her gaze. She found herself unable to decipher Wang Lin.

“He offers this blade… could he possess some hidden assurance?”

Wang Lin’s expression remained a mask of serenity, his eyes no longer lingering upon 炎祟. He turned towards the staircase that spiraled upwards to the Seventh Layer. His pace was measured, yet with each step, ripples of unseen energy emanated, resonating upon 炎祟’s very soul. She abandoned her attempts to decipher the divine power within the spirit body, her attention solely focused on Wang Lin, a tremor of apprehension now running through her.

A seed of regret began to sprout. Perhaps provoking Wang Lin had been unwise. The azure umbrella was a treasure of considerable strength, its defensive capabilities nigh impenetrable.

“The man is a viper, skilled in deception! He feigns confidence, lest he be forced to renege on our pact when he falls.” 炎祟 watched as Wang Lin approached the ancient staircase, each step deliberate and unhurried.

Before him stood the staircase. Nineteen steps, each leading ever upward to the Seventh Layer. Though seemingly within arm’s reach, a palpable aura of danger pulsed from the stone, a silent warning that only those with unwavering will could ascend without being dashed against the rocks like a lone skiff in a storm.

“What’s this? Fear take you?” 炎祟 scoffed as Wang Lin paused at the foot of the stairs, a breath of relief escaping her lips. She dreaded the sight of him ascending with effortless grace, though such a thing seemed to her all but impossible.

Wang Lin spun, his gaze laden with meaning as he pierced 炎祟 with his stare.

“Mark well!” His voice resonated with power, and with a surge of inner light, Wang Lin set his foot upon the first step. At that instant, the very heavens above the Great Soul Sect shuddered and spun.

A colossal staircase, stretching for leagues across the sky, materialized above the Great Soul Sect. The steps radiated a blinding light, banishing the night and casting the land in an ethereal glow.

A deafening roar echoed through the darkness, tearing slumber from countless Great Soul Sect cultivators. They cast forth their senses, or simply blinked into existence upon the peaks of their respective mountains, to behold the spectacle above.

“One seeks to enter the Seventh Layer of the Soul Repository!”

“That white-haired figure… is it not the newly arrived Elder Wang?”

“His power is undeniable, but to enter the Seventh Layer… that is a feat few can achieve!”

“Ha! A show at last! It has been over a century since anyone last attempted to ascend to the Seventh Layer. Save for a few ancient relics, none dare set foot upon those steps!”

“The enchantments of the Soul Repository are formidable. Only upon reaching the Seventh Layer will this celestial display cease. Until then, each attempt will be witnessed by all! This Elder Wang is destined to fail!”

Upon the first step of the celestial staircase stood a towering figure, his hair as white as the moon – Wang Lin himself!

This was the Heavenly Manifestation, the omen that presaged any attempt to reach the Seventh Layer of the Great Soul Sect’s Soul Repository. Since time immemorial, any who dared to venture into those forbidden halls would be marked by such a display, their efforts witnessed by the entire sect.

It was a mark of glory, but also a crushing burden. Those unworthy to pass would have their every struggle laid bare, their ignominious retreat witnessed by all.

It was for this very reason that so few dared to attempt the ascent.

Figures emerged from mountainsides throughout the Great Soul Sect, their eyes turned towards the sky. Such spectacles, though not unheard of, were rare enough to warrant attention.

Yet few believed in Wang Lin’s success. Most anticipated the entertainment of watching him fall.

Even the Azure Ox Ancestor, seated atop Azure Heaven Peak, furrowed his brow and gazed through his cave towards the celestial anomaly.

“He acts with haste… his cultivation is insufficient to reach the Seventh Layer.” The Azure Ox Ancestor sighed, shaking his head.

“Perhaps this is for the best. Let his arrogance be humbled. He must not assume our Great Soul Sect lacks true power!”

Meanwhile, within a scattering of peaks throughout the Great Soul Sect, a handful of ancient beings, long lost in secluded meditation, slowly opened eyes like distant stars, their gaze focused on the spectacle above.

“Intriguing… He struggles to reach even the Sixth Layer, yet dares to reach for the Seventh?”

“The disciple is overreaching himself…”

In the ethereal realm above, upon the first step of the nineteen-tiered staircase, Wang Lin stood motionless, his eyes closed.

But after a time, he snapped his eyes open, his gaze fixed upon the apex of the stairs. He raised his foot, striding forward with purpose, each step a deliberate act of will!

With each footfall, a thunderous roar echoed throughout the Great Soul Sect, resonating like the wrath of the heavens. In the blink of an eye, Wang Lin ascended five steps, leaving five tiers beneath him!

Within the Sixth Layer of the Soul Repository, 炎祟 watched Wang Lin with feverish intensity. As he reached the fifth step, her expression faltered, only to quickly regain its composure.

“Bah! Five steps mean nothing. He will never reach the seventh!” 炎祟’s fists clenched, the divine power within the spirit body forgotten as her gaze remained locked on Wang Lin.

Wang Lin’s face betrayed nothing, yet within, a storm of fury raged. The moment his fifth footfall landed, he felt as though he was plunged into an abyss of infinite depth. A wave of immense spiritual energy erupted from the step beneath him, crashing against his soul like a thunderclap.

“Turn back!”

“Turn back!”

“Turn back!!!”
Though but a whisper of two syllables, the sound erupted within Wang Lin’s mind, echoing with a boundless resonance. It surged and crashed like the simultaneous roars of a thousand souls.

Under this deafening assault, Wang Lin’s body felt as though it would be torn asunder. Retreat was his only salvation, lest he be utterly annihilated, body and spirit.

On the fifth step, his ascent faltered. He raised his gaze towards the summit of the ethereal staircase, resolve blazing in his eyes.

“Primal Avatar, manifest!” Wang Lin’s right hand rose, weaving a mystic sign. At his command, a deafening roar shook the Great Soul Sect as the burning veins of the Flame Peak unleashed a torrent of fire. This fiery ocean spread across the heavens, and within its crimson depths, a colossal face took form.

It was the face of Wang Lin’s Primal Avatar!

In a blinding flash, the all-consuming fire surged towards the illusory stairs and the spectral image of Wang Lin upon them, merging seamlessly with his ethereal form.

Simultaneously, within the sixth level of the Soul Repository Pavilion, upon the staircase leading to the seventh, Wang Lin’s fiery aura dispersed, revealing behind him the towering figure of his Primal Avatar!

The moment his Avatar materialized, Wang Lin’s eyes gleamed with newfound power. He surged forward, planting his foot with renewed determination!

Sixth step, seventh step, eighth step – Wang Lin’s advance was relentless. In a mere breath, he had ascended to the thirteenth stair!

The instant his foot struck the thirteenth step, Yan Luan, who had been observing Wang Lin from the sixth level, sprang to her feet. Her exquisite face was contorted in disbelief, her body trembling. Unnoticed, her right hand clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

“Impossible!”

At the same time, within the Great Soul Sect, the sight of Wang Lin ascending so many steps at once sent ripples of astonishment through the ranks of cultivators and elders. Whispers turned to murmurs, then to a resounding clamor.

“Stopped at the fifth, then leaped to the thirteenth! Such willpower…he possesses such incredible willpower!”

“The Primal Avatar! He summoned his Primal Avatar!”

“Elder Wang’s actions are astonishing! Only six steps remain before he enters the seventh level!”

The existence of Wang Lin’s Primal Avatar was not universally known within the Great Soul Sect. Now, revealed before the eyes of all, it ignited a wave of awe and disbelief beyond measure.

The Great Soul Sect was in an uproar. Even the ancient masters, long secluded in their meditative retreats, were stirred from their slumber.

“Thirteen steps…” Old Ancestor Qing Niu, upon Qing Tian Peak, observed with narrowed eyes, remaining seated, unmoved.

“I underestimated him…his Primal Avatar is nearing the realm of a true immortal. ‘Primal Avatar’ and ‘Primal Immortal,’ a single word separates them, yet they are as distant as the heavens and the earth!

However, thirteen steps is nearing his limit. He can, at most, take three more!” Old Ancestor Qing Niu’s experience was vast, his judgment rarely faltered.

Within the Soul Repository Pavilion, on the thirteenth step of the staircase leading to the seventh level, Wang Lin stood, silent. He had reached this point thanks to the power of his Primal Avatar, but within his mind, the thunderous voice, like the wrath of the heavens, had grown a thousandfold!

“Withdraw!”

The roar echoed endlessly within his skull, battering at Wang Lin’s nascent soul. Though his expression remained calm, his eyes began to cloud with uncertainty.

This hesitation was noticed by Yan Luan, by the countless cultivators outside the Great Soul Sect, and by the ancient masters in their secluded havens.

“He’s weakening!” A flicker of triumph crossed Yan Luan’s face.

“It seems he will not reach the seventh level, after all…” Many within the Great Soul Sect shook their heads in quiet disappointment.

But in that very instant, the cloudiness vanished from Wang Lin’s eyes, replaced by a fierce and unyielding light!

“Yan Luan, your celebration is premature. That umbrella of yours…I will have it!”